Chapter 164: Chapter 163: Missing Potion Ingredients
Inside the spacious cabin on the deck of the huge ship, four wizards surrounded a long table, each sitting in a high-backed chair, discussing matters.
“What should we do?” Wizard Louis, sitting on the east, spoke up. “We can’t keep testing, can we?”
“Why can’t we?” Wizard Quinton, located to the south, responded. “I think this method is quite good.”
“But too many people have died. In today’s test alone, over twenty people died and about the same number were injured,” Siv, sitting on the west, interjected.
“Twenty people? That’s not many,” Wizard Dempsey, sitting on the north, said emotionlessly. “This loss is acceptable, even if it’s a bit more. After all, we at the White Stone Tower are training Battle Wizards, not bookworms. If their thinking hasn’t shifted by now, their deaths are inconsequential.”
“But what about those students with High-level Talent? They are quite valuable,” Wizard Louis asked. “Losing even one would be a big deal.”
“Just give them some special attention,” Dempsey suggested. “Not too much, just enough to make them aware. Allow them to make mistakes in each test, but if they make too many, let it be. After all, no amount of talent can save the foolish. As for those with Intermediate and Low-level Talent, and those without any Talent, let them be. If they pass the tests, they are lucky. If not, that is their deserved fate. Of course, we can give some extra attention to ones with special performance.”
“Like who?” Siv asked.
“That girl named Nancy is good. Anyone can die, she absolutely cannot.”
“Of course,” Louis said, his tone slightly raising. “She was brought in by me, and she might be the best this time around. I will keep an eye on her and make sure she stays safe. But to be honest, given her strength as a First-level Apprentice right now, she’s unlikely to get into trouble as long as she’s not too impulsive.”
“Hmm,” Dempsey nodded, showing agreement, then continued. “Besides her, there are a few others, such as Tyson and Noc in the third-level cabin below deck, and Pippen, Murphy, Da Li, Anthony in the second-level cabin. Their talents may be lower, but given their performance today, their physical qualities are quite outstanding. Even if they cannot become wizards through normal means, they could take the path of potion-making. Even failing that, serving as attendants wouldn’t be too bad.”
“Speaking of performance,” Siv said, “there was someone who performed well today, that boy named Richard living in the third-level cabin, his swordsmanship is impressive, stronger than that of Nancy.”
“But that’s just his swordsmanship,” Dempsey glanced dismissively. “The farther we go, the more detrimental swordsmanship becomes. By the time they reach Third-level Apprentice, it’s basically irrecoverable, not to mention at Wizard Level. Since you mentioned he lives in the third-level cabin below deck, his Talent is either Low or non-existent, though there’s not much difference between the two. In short, his chances of becoming a wizard are slim. His physical condition isn’t outstanding, and he likely can’t breach through using potions either, so he doesn’t need much attention, alive or dead.”
Siv fell silent, as Dempsey’s arguments were sound and reasoned. He had brought up Richard because among the people he recruited, aside from those with High-level Talent like Luther and Calvin, there were hardly any noteworthy ones. Compared to others, his recruitment was the poorest, and he wanted to save face, but Dempsey was meticulous and uncompromising.
Who could blame them? Richard’s strength was only in swordsmanship, not anything else. Perhaps he was strong at this stage, but by the time training commenced at the White Stone Tower, he would only fall further behind others like Tyson and Anthony.
It was just as well that his fate was of little consequence.
Siv sighed to himself, his eyes drooping, and fell into silence.
“How many more times will the test be?” Quinton, sitting on the south side of the table, changed the subject.
“Let’s see,” Dempsey thought and then replied. “Although the number of recruits this time is sufficient, the proportion of those with High-level Talent is too low, which won’t look good. Therefore, we also need to reduce the number by a third or a half, ensuring that those who remain are somewhat clever and capable, without too many worthless ones.”
“So, we still need two or three more rounds of tests?”
A few days later, at night.
In the third-level cabin on the ship’s deck, inside Richard’s chamber. Richard, deemed as someone whose life or death was inconsequential by the wizards, was earnestly studying the “One-eyed Frenzy Potion” on the parchment.
After several days, Richard had nearly mastered the contents recorded, and tried to produce the potion, but found a crucial ingredient missing.
According to the parchment, the missing ingredient was called “Rainbow Bird Pure Blood,” primarily used to reduce pain and control emotions, serving as a core component.
For some reason, this ingredient wasn’t among the few jars obtained from the pirates, hence the potion production couldn’t proceed.
How then could he obtain this ingredient?
Richard pondered, speaking to himself: “Based on the name, the ingredient should be the blood of a creature, which must be relatively rare, hence the lack of reserves. But it can’t be too rare, otherwise One-eyed wouldn’t have been able to produce enough potion to transform over twenty elite pirates into Red-eyed Pirates. If this creature is a sort of seabird, then I might encounter it on the deck during regular days. But how can I confirm if it is the so-called Rainbow Bird? Does it have multicolored feathers, a vibrant appearance? Hmm, it seems I need to spend more time on the deck during daylight. Hopefully, this bird has normal habits, otherwise, if it is nocturnal, then…”
As Richard was speaking to himself, he suddenly heard a flurry of footsteps and shouts outside the cabin door: “Hurry up, hurry up, the Master Wizard has called us to the deck, there’s something happening, hurry…”
Richard opened the door and stepped out, watching a large crowd running up the stairs. Gro squeezed through the crowd, voluntarily approaching Richard: “Lord Richard, I’ve heard there’s going to be another test.”
“Another test?” Richard raised an eyebrow. “It’s only been a few days since the last one, and now another?”
“Uh, this…” Gro scratched his head. “I’m not quite sure myself. But some say it’s a test, though not a real one.”
“Uh, that… I really don’t know,” Gro replied, bewildered, shaking his head.
“Let’s go up and see,” Richard suggested.
“Alright,” Gro followed Richard toward the upper deck.